Way Elementary School

Dear Way Families,

This is a reminder school will be closed on Monday, January 21 in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Classes resume for a full-day on Tuesday, January 22. Next Friday, January 25, dismissal will be at 12:20 p.m. for Teacher Records' Day. 

Vision screening will take place for students in first and third grades on January 23, 24 and 25.

If you like skiing this is your weekend!

Adam Scher, Principal

This is where the FUN starts!!!

Way’s ‘Adult’s Night Out’ Fundraiser Event is the Way PTO annual fundraiser.  It is the major fundraiser organized by the Way PTO to benefit the many core programs at Way.  Way PTO focuses on having fun with fundraising, instead of selling pizza kits or asking parents to sponsor a “Fund” run.  With the proceeds from this event, Way’s PTO has funded school enrichment programs, beautification, new playground equipment, teacher appreciation activities and so much more.  All of the funds raised stay with our school.

Top 5 Reasons to attend:

1.    You Belong – Enrolling your children at Way Elementary, you are part of the community.  The new    
       adventure starts in kindergarten, and continues through middle and high school.
2.    Support Our School – Way PTO is a non-profit charity and donations may be tax deductible.
3.    Get Connected – Meet new friends and fellow Way families in a fun environment.
4.    Date Night – We do so much for our children, and it is also important to have fun as an Adult. 
5.    Have Fun – This year we are bringing in casino-style gaming tables to enhance the experience.

How does it work?

1.    Parents attend the event – Proceeds of the ticket sales go to Way PTO
2.    Local businesses donate items for the auction to advertise their businesses.  
3.    Parents can bid on auction items and all proceeds will go to Way PTO
4.    Parents can sign up for “Teacher Experiences” or “Pay to Play Experiences”.  Proceeds for the 
       experiences go to Way PTO.  ”Experiences” are fun activities for students or parents who pay money     
       to attend. It could be an art class, poker night, or end of school pool party for example.
5.    Socialize at the event with casino-style gaming, food and cash bar.

We’ve already purchased our tickets and hope to see you there! Please contact us soon to purchase tickets for $55.  We can accept check, cash or credit card.  You can also purchase tickets on the PTO website at http://wayelementarypto.my-pta.org under the E-Store tab.

Thank You.

Caroline Groeneveld.  Co-Chair (248) 910-5992 / csmith@carolineinc.com
Bridget Gable. Co-Chair (313) 378-1540 / bridgetgable@aol.com

"What's your name?" It's important that your child knows their first and last name. It's even better if they know how to write it! For tips on how to help your child learn their name, visit www.bloomfield.org/kindergarten

Questions? Join us for our Kindergarten Info Session on Monday, February 11, 2019, from 7 - 8 p.m. in Bloomfield Hills High School Auditorium. You can also text KDG to 248.230.2879 and our Kindergarten experts will respond!

The Bloomfield Hills Schools Transportation department is pleased to introduce SafeStop, an app for your smartphone or tablet that offers real time school bus updates.  It provides an estimated time of arrival and up to the minute alerts from the transportation department when necessary. For 30 minutes before and after the scheduled pick-up & drop-off times, the bus locator will be displayed on a map.  We are hopeful you will find this tool useful, and are excited to share it with our families.

Please follow the directions listed on the Transportation web page to get connected: https://www.bloomfield.org/transportation

Dear Way Families,                                 

I want to let you know that we recently were awarded a Bloomfield Hills Foundation Grant for the Way Art Studio! This grant will be used to help your child continue to create and help guide you when assisting your child's creative process. I have created several art take-home studios for your child to check just like they would a library book. If interested, please sign the permission slip that can be found in your child's backpack, or click the link below.

/uploaded/schools/Way/Take_Home_Permission_Slip.pdf

Thank you!

Mallory Molnar, Way Art Teacher

Multicultural Celebration 2019: How to get involved:

Our second annual district-wide Multicultural Celebration is on the horizon, coming up on Monday, March 18, 2019, at Bloomfield Hills High School, from 5:30 – 8:00 pm. This event, involving all of our district schools, is a beautiful celebration of the many cultures represented by our students and their families. Sponsored and coordinated by the PTOC (PTO Council) of our schools, we encourage students to participate in a variety of ways, from showcasing culture on an exhibit board, to sharing a music or dance performance.  Students may work individually (with support from their families), in small groups, with school clubs, boy scouts, girl scouts, robotics teams, sports teams, or with students from other district schools. This year’s theme is Inspiring Figures, so each exhibit presented will feature a person/persons, current or historical, who is originally from the selected culture, and has contributed to American society. 

Please email any questions to Way representatives Aasma Chaudhary: aasma.khan.2010@gmail.com, Neeli Jawad: neelijs@yahoo.com, Jinette Chapman: chapman5five@gmail.com,

Or at BHMulticulturalCelebration@gmail.com.  

Click on the participation packet attached below to learn more, and sign up to participate! Submit your participation packets via email to your Way representative or submit at the school office.

/uploaded/schools/Way/2019_Participation_Packet_as_PDF_(1).pdf

Visit Facebook and search the event page "Multicultural Celebration BHS" event.

A slideshow is also available on the BHS website with detailed information regarding the event, snapshots from last year and much more. Please follow this link to see the slideshow.

https://www.bloomfield.org/news/district-news/~post/participate-in-the-multicultural-celebration-20181120

Looking Forward to your participation!

Multicultural Celebration chairs

Neeli Jawad, Aasma Chudhary & Jinette Chapman

Families are automatically signed up to receive communication from their child's school, teachers, and Bloomfield Hills Schools (Wednesday Web News & Important Notices - including school cancellations). In order to receive emails, telephone calls, and even text messages, all you have to do is maintain your contact information and manage your personal preferences. If you wish not to receive these newsletters, simply "opt-out" when you receive the first newsletter (an option at the bottom of every email we send).

Instructions for updating this information are now available at www.bloomfield.org/notifications. Here you can manage your contact preferences as they pertains to emergency and district notifications. 

Dear Way Families,

As we begin the new school year, Way Elementary will be implementing a new policy regarding provision of food at school celebrations.  Currently, the majority of our classrooms report some form of food allergy restriction. This represents a tipping point for us. Policing food at parties and other celebrations is not only time consuming, but places staff and at-risk students in a potentially dangerous position. With this in mind, the only food brought into the building for celebrations and other day-time events will be orchestrated between the classroom teacher and head-room parent.  For the last several years, Way has adhered to a healthy foods policy and those foods will be stressed for these special occasions.

As has always been the case, you will still be able to make personal food choices for your child's lunch or snack, providing the food doesn't contain the allergen at play in the classroom. All families should have previously been notified about allergy conditions of the classroom.  

Attention to these minor shifts in thinking and behavior should lead to a safer and healthier environment for all.

Sincerely,

Adam Scher

Dear Families,

Welcome to Way Elementary! For those of you who are new to this school, we warmly welcome you into this big family.  
If you are new, we have a Way mentor to help you navigate our school and community. Please reach out to Lisa Grabowski via email at lisaggrabowski@gmail.com or 734.612.7880 for any help acclimating.

Please fill out the tour request form here or call 248.341.6328.

Each student has a unique set of interests and it is likely you will have questions you would like to ask privately. For these reasons and others, we offer personalized tours of Bloomfield Hills Schools.